“Identity” is a 2003 film written and directed by James Mangold. It stars John Cusack as Ed Dakota, Ray Liotta as Rhodes, Amanda Peet as Paris, John Hawkes as Larry, Alfred Molina as Dr. Malick, and more. The film revolves around ten strangers who get stranded in a motel during a storm, not knowing that a killer is lying in wait, wanting to kill them all one after the other.
“Identity” expertly deceives and shocks at every turn. What seems to be a usual slasher set in a dilapidated hotel during a storm is really rather exceptional. “Identity” is an exciting and unpredictable trip that will leave you wondering what happens next, thanks to its brilliant storytelling. The unexpected turns will startle you time and time again, regardless of how good you are at predicting murderer identities and story twists. The film may have a few flaws, but it more than makes up for them with its innovative ideas and exceptional genius.
Identity (2003) Plot Summary &Â Movie Synopsis:
Who is Malcolm Rivers?
The film starts with a recording of Malcolm Rivers, a man locked up in a high-security prison. Malcolm is on death row for committing a gruesome crime. According to the police report, Malcolm brutally murdered six people in an apartment complex on his birthday, November 10. The crime was so horrific that the courts handed him a death sentence, with his execution date just 16 hours away.
Malcolm’s lawyers tried every trick in the book to save him, arguing that he was mentally unstable and shouldn’t face the death penalty, but the courts didn’t buy their story until game-changing evidence was revealed in a diary. This diary becomes the defense’s golden ticket, giving them a shot at stopping Malcolm’s execution. They argued that the prosecution intentionally kept this crucial piece of evidence hidden. The defense claimed that at the time of the murders, Malcolm was mentally unstable, which means he shouldn’t be executed for the crimes he doesn’t understand he has committed.
Who are the strangers at the Motel?
The movie isn’t entirely about Malcolm Rivers but also about a crew of other characters who are just as crucial to the story. On a stormy night, the same night Malcolm is being rushed to court for a last-minute hearing before his execution, ten strangers end up at a secluded motel. This random group includes Ed Dakota, an ex-cop turned limo driver; Inspector Rhodes, who’s escorting a convict named Robert Maine; and Paris Nevada, a call girl. We also see Caroline Suzanne, a fading actress, and Lou and Ginny, a couple who have just married. Rounding out the group are George and Alice, another couple, along with their young son, Timothy. Each of them is stuck at this run-down motel, and as the night grows young, their fate intertwines in ways none of them could’ve seen coming.
Each of them ends up at the motel for their own reasons. George shows up desperate for help after his wife, Alice, gets into an accident with Ed’s limo. With the storm cutting them off from the outside world and no hospital in sight, Ed has to improvise and stitch up Alice’s wounds himself. On the other hand, Paris is forced to detour when the storm obstructs her original route. The rest of the group trickles in, all delayed or stranded by the weather.
Who is the real killer at the motel?
As mentioned earlier, Inspector Rhodes is transporting a dangerous criminal, Robert Maine, when the storm forces them to take refuge at the motel. Knowing Maine’s violent history, Rhodes decides not to take any chances and knocks him out cold to keep him from causing trouble. But things take a dark turn when Caroline is brutally murdered while trying to get a signal outside. Her head is found in a washer, decapitated by the unknown killer. Ed and Rhodes immediately rush to check on Maine, only to find that he’s vanished. Panic sets in when they break the grim news to the others and advise everyone to stay together while they scour the area for Maine, fearing he’s the killer.
Lou and Ginny step outside to argue, and during their heated exchange, Ginny reveals that she’s been faking her pregnancy. Feeling cornered, she locks herself in the bathroom, but the killer strikes again and viciously stabs Lou multiple times. Ed and Rhodes manage to catch Maine and tie him to a chair so they can breathe a little easier, thinking the nightmare is finally over. That relief is short-lived, and someone takes out Maine, too, and leaves behind a room key just like the one found on Lou’s body.
Is Larry really the killer, or just a misunderstood guest?
The blame quickly shifts to Larry, who was supposed to be keeping an eye on Maine. Ed and Rhodes move in to restrain him, but Larry panics and tries to escape. In his frantic escape, he accidentally hits George with a vehicle, killing him on the spot. Alice dies, too, and strangely, another room key is found next to her body. When they retrieve George’s body, they find yet another key.
Everyone is set on Larry being the killer, but then Larry reveals that he’s just another guest who stumbled into this motel like everyone else. After the motel’s manager keeled over from a heart attack, Larry decided to take over the place to make some extra cash because he was broke. This is the reason why Larry kept sneaking glances at the freezer. He had hidden the manager’s body in there to keep it from rotting until he could hand it over to the family.
What happens to the bodies?
Soon, everyone starts losing their grip after they find the last two motel keys, which is weird because the last two deaths were accidents. Alice’s injury from the road finally killed her, and Larry ran over George in a panic. Ed tells Ginny to take Timothy and leave, but their car blows up in a massive explosion before they can leave the motel grounds.
The weird thing is that when Ed and Rhodes try to put out the flames, they can’t find any bodies, as if Ginny and Timothy had vanished into thin air. They check on the other corpses, but they’ve all mysteriously disappeared. It is also revealed that everyone at the motel, dead or alive, shares the same birthday. Ed realizes that everyone’s last name is the name of a state, just like the imaginary friends he used to make up when he was a kid.
Who is Ed Dakota?
During the hearing, the defense team, including Dr. Malik, presents Malcolm’s diary, which paints a picture of a man battling more than just his demons. According to them, Malcolm is suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), meaning he’s got multiple personalities living in his head. They argue that he’s not a cold-blooded killer but someone who’s mentally ill. They ask for Malcolm to be sent to a mental hospital, not a date with the electric chair.
Also, Ed is actually one of the personalities Malcolm Rivers created when he was growing up. This means that everything going down at the motel is happening in Ed’s, or, more precisely, Malcolm’s mind. Also, the brutal murders Malcolm was locked up for were actually committed by Ed Dakota, one of his alter egos. Now, Malcolm’s only shot at avoiding the electric chair is to prove to the judge that Ed, his murderous alter, has left his mind. The only way to do that is to make sure Ed can’t survive the motel massacre that is taking place inside Malcolm’s head.
Identity (2003) Movie Ending Explained:
What Happens to Malcolm Rivers?
Back at the motel, we learn that Rhodes is the real killer. Both Rhodes and Maine were supposed to be transferred to prison, but Rhodes killed the officer and took on his identity. Now that his cover is blown, Rhodes decides to leave no witnesses. He shoots Larry and chases after Paris. When Ed finds out the truth, he confronts Rhodes, and they both end up shooting each other dead. Ed’s death wipes out his violent personality from Malcolm’s mind.
In the present, the judge orders a stay on Malcolm’s execution and instead sends him to a mental asylum for treatment under Dr. Malik. But in reality, Ed was never the violent and murderous one. It was Timothy all along. He’s the one who slaughtered everyone at the motel, from Caroline to Lou, Maine, and Ginny. In the end, Timothy kills Paris, taking complete control of Malcolm’s body, and causes a fatal car crash, possibly killing everyone.
Identity (2003) Movie Themes Analysed:
“Identity” (2003) combines a murder mystery with a fierce narrative of mental anarchy. The film follows a motley crew of strangers as they get stranded in a deserted hotel and witness the gruesome murder of one by one. John C. McGinley’s Malcolm Rivers, who suffers from multiple personality disorder, plays a pivotal role in the plot.
A person with this disorder, like Malcolm, is shown in the film as having the ability to subconsciously assume several personas, each with its own set of characteristics and recollections. As the story matures, we learn that Malcolm’s inner agony and broken sense of self are reflected in the murder spree and that his many personas are acting it out in his head. The film shows how a person’s sense of self may be shattered by mental illness, triggering a terrifying internal conflict between truth and fantasy.
